Gun Crazy

Gun Crazy
Gun Crazy

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
Produced by Frank King
Maurice King
Screenplay by Dalton Trumbo
MacKinlay Kantor
Story by MacKinlay Kantor
Starring Peggy Cummins
John Dall
Music by Victor Young
Cinematography Russell Harlan
Editing by Harry Gerstad
Studio King Brothers Productions
Distributed by United Artists
Release date(s) January 26, 1950 (1950-01-26) (United States)
Running time 86 minutes
Country Template:Cinema United States
Language English

Gun Crazy is a 1950 film noir feature film starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall in a story about the crime-spree of a gun-toting husband and wife. The film was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, and produced by Frank King and Maurice King. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo (credited to Millard Kaufman because of the Hollywood Blacklist), and MacKinlay Kantor was based upon a short story by Kantor published in 1940 in The Saturday Evening Post. Gun Crazy was selected for the National Film Registry, and is also known as Deadly Is the Female.[1](1950)

Contents

Plot

Bart Tare (John Dall) is an ex-Army man who has a lifelong fixation with guns—they make him feel good inside. The drama opens with Tare, age 14, being grilled by a judge because he had been arrested for breaking and entering and stealing a gun. In flashbacks his friends say that while it's true that Tare loves guns, he would never kill anything. They tell the judge the number of times he's refused to kill animals. Nevertheless the judge sends him to reform school.

The next time we see Tare, he's grown up and back in town. He's also left military service behind. He reunites with his childhood friends and they decide to go to a carnival.

There he meets a kindred spirit in sharpshooter Annie Laurie Starr (Peggy Cummins) and goes to work at the carnival. They are attracted to one another and after upsetting the carnival owner who lusts after Starr, they both get fired. Soon, on Starr's behest, they embark on a crime spree for cash. Subjects of a manhunt, they are tracked by police in the hills Tare enjoyed as a boy.

Cast

Production

The screenplay was credited to Kantor and Millard Kaufman; however, Kaufman was a front for Hollywood Ten outcast Dalton Trumbo, who considerably reworked the story into a doomed love affair.

The picture was originally slated for Monogram release, yet the producers, the King Brothers Productions, chose United Artists as the distributor. As such, Gun Crazy enjoyed wider exposure.[2]

In an interview with Danny Peary, director Joseph H. Lewis revealed his instructions to actors John Dall and Peggy Cummins:

I told John, "Your cock's never been so hard," and I told Peggy, "You're a female dog in heat, and you want him. But don't let him have it in a hurry. Keep him waiting." That's exactly how I talked to them and I turned them loose. I didn't have to give them more directions.[3]

The bank heist sequence was shot entirely in one long take in Montrose, California, with no one besides the principal actors and people inside the bank alerted to the operation. This one-take shot included the sequence of driving into town to the bank, distracting and then knocking out a patrolman, and making the get-away. This was done by simulating the interior of a sedan with a stretch Cadillac with room enough to mount the camera and a jockey's saddle for the cameraman on a greased two-by-twelve board in the back. Lewis kept it fresh by having the actors improvise their dialogue.

Reception

Critical response

Critic and author Eddie Muller wrote, "Joseph H. Lewis's direction is propulsive, possessed of a confident, vigorous simplicity that all the frantic editing and visual pyrotechnics of the filmmaking progeny never quite surpassed."[4]

Sam Adams, critic for the Philadelphia City Paper, wrote, "The codes of the time prevented Lewis from being explicit about the extent to which their fast-blooming romance is fueled by their mutual love of weaponry (Arthur Penn would rip off the covers in Bonnie and Clyde, which owes Gun Crazy a substantial debt), but when Cummins' six-gun dangles provocatively as she gasses up their jalopy, it's clear what really fills their collective tank."[5]

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 96% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on twenty seven reviews.[6]

Honors

In 1998, Gun Crazy was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

American Film Institute Lists

References

  1. ^ Gun Crazy at the TCM Movie Database.
  2. ^ Erikson, Hal. Gun Crazy at AllRovi.
  3. ^ Peary, Danny. Cult Movies, Delta Books, 1981. ISBN 0-517-20185-2.
  4. ^ Muller, Eddie. Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir, St. Martin's Griffin, 208 pages, 1998. ISBN 0312180764.
  5. ^ Adams, Sam. Philadelphia City Paper, film review, July 29-August 4, 2004. Last accessed: January 5, 2008.
  6. ^ Gun Crazy at Rotten Tomatoes. Last accessed: December 3, 2009.
  7. ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Nominees
  8. ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills
  9. ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions Nominees
  10. ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees
  11. ^ AFI's 10 Top 10 Ballot

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gun Crazy (album) — Infobox Album Name = Gun Crazy Type = EP Artist = The Mr. T Experience Released = 1993 Recorded = 1993 Genre = Punk rock, pop punk Length = Label = Lookout! Producer = Reviews = Last album = Strum ünd Bang, Live!? (1993) This album = Gun Crazy… …   Wikipedia

  • Gun Crazy - Junge Killer — In diesem Artikel oder Abschnitt fehlen folgende wichtige Informationen: Vollständige Handlung Du kannst Wikipedia helfen, indem du sie recherchierst und einfügst …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gun Crazy – Junge Killer — In diesem Artikel oder Abschnitt fehlen folgende wichtige Informationen: Vollständige Handlung Du kannst Wikipedia helfen, indem du sie recherchierst und einfügst …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gun Crazy —    Voir Le Démon des armes …   Dictionnaire mondial des Films

  • Crazy Nights Tour — Tour by Kiss Start date November 13, 1987 End date October 4, 1988 Legs 6 Shows 129 played 2 cancelled …   Wikipedia

  • Crazy Crazy Nights — Single by Kiss from the album Crazy Nights B side …   Wikipedia

  • Crazy Nights (video) — Crazy Nights is a music VHS by American hard rock band Kiss. The VHS features 3 videos from their non make up era album of the same name. It included the music videos for Crazy Crazy Nights , Turn on the Night and Reason to Live . It was… …   Wikipedia

  • Crazy Crazy Nights — Single par Kiss extrait de l’album Crazy Nights Face A Crazy Crazy Nights Face B No, No, No Sortie 18 août 1987 Durée …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Crazy Nights — Album par Kiss Sortie 18 septembre 1987 Enregistrement mars juin 1987 Durée 42:53 Genre …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Crazy Loving: The Best of Poco 1975–1982 — Compilation album by Poco Released October 1989 Genre Country rock Length …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”